TNF and diabetes mellitus: The NR4A1 mRNA relative expression level was found to exhibit a positive correlation with several diabetes-related parameters, including the HOMA-IR (r=0.761, P<0.01; Fig. 3A), FFAs (r=0.560, P<0.01; Fig. 3A), TNF-α (r=0.697, P<0.01; Fig. 3B) and IL-6 levels (r=0.796 P<0.01, Fig. 3B).